UNCUT GEMS(2019)

Uncut Gems is a crowning achievement and a thesis statement by the Safdie Brothers in their big-budget studio-produced film. It's a film that is in conversation with recurring themes of other works by the Safdie Brothers.

However, unlike previous Safdie Brothers works, Uncut Gems filters this tale of self-destructive cycles through a Jewish American identity lens in contemporary urban America, drawing from the vestiges of the Jewish Wave decades prior.

Uncut Gems finds Howard in the throes of devising convoluted schemes in pursuit of inflated monetary gain, driven by insecurity and a thrill at the prospect. He's a miserable, petty self-loathing miser unable to let go of his petty business games.

Hence, Uncut Gems feels like taking the sexually liberated Jews wave of Portnoy and David, to its logical nihilistic conclusion, with Howard exploiting his Jewish roots to fit his self-serving agendas with his capitalistic pursuits.

Uncut Gems is perhaps the Safdie Brothers' film most rooted in Jewish American identity, meditating on assimilation and its outsider status, making it a deeply personal work for them and a thesis statement on their previous works.

Hence, Uncut Gems feels modeled from two previous Safdie Brothers works ("Daddy Longlegs" and "Lenny Cooke"), with Daddy Longlegs being a semi-autobiographical work from the Brothers about their complex relationship with their father, while Lenny Cooke is a documentary about a talented yet self-destructive basketball player unable to rise through the systemic barriers for personal and societal reasons.

Uncut Gems models these thematic preoccupations about self-destructive individuals and troubled family relationships through the prism of contemporary Jewish American identity, lost in the throes of urban capitalist oligarchy and reveling in the thrill of it.

Uncut Gems also explores the curious Black-Jew synthesis present in contemporary American History, paralleling their conflicts and their tense history within the United States and fostering an environment of cohabitation between the two cultures.

Uncut Gems is a chaotic nightmare, with its anxiety-inducing setpieces that juggle multiple elements, unlike Howard's exploits. However, Uncut Gems provides a method behind the madness. It's a well-tethered balance.

Uncut Gems benefits wonderfully from Adam Sandler's central performance, highlighting the contradicting impulses between his dramatic acting career and the naive man-child comedic impulses, getting the best of both worlds.

The direction maintains tension and anxiety-inducing drama, providing rhythmic structure to the film. The striking cinematography captures the frenzied chaos with jump cuts, crosscuts, framing, and depth. The immaculate sound design employs traditional synth music, lending a propulsive soundscape.

The against-type casting (Adam Sandler) and the mixture of local non-actors provide a good fit, diversity, and authenticity. The production design envelops NYC's cutthroat capitalist world, providing it with a sense of texture and personality.

The minimal effects are employed for blood, makeup, and minor action set-pieces and composition. Overall, Uncut Gems is a well-crafted, propulsive film that captures the Jewish American experience in America with its infinite contradictions and acts as a thesis statement for the Safdies.

Writing: 10/10

Direction: 10/10

Cinematography: 9/10

Acting: 10/10

Editing: 9/10

Sound: 10/10

Score: 9/10

Prod Design: 10/10

Casting:10/10

Effects: 7/10

Overall Score: 9.4/10